Game over Hollywood,authentic,rousing sports movies are no longer just your forte, there is a new contender in the ring, so to speak.I’d decided that i wouldn’t write anything about this film even before i watched it simply because as a viewer you know already that Aamir Khan wouldn’t disappoint you ,being the perfectionist he is and to even try and dissect a movie with those kind of standards would be something that’s beyond me.I honestly can’t recall the last time when an Aamir Khan movie turned out to be a disappointment.But now that I’ve watched the film, i have to share my thoughts on this movie.There it seems ,is no other go.
Sports to us is mostly just cricket and with the kind of space and encouragement rest of the sports gets in the country, its hardly any surprise that we don’t have many genuine sports movies either,except for a Chak De or a Bhaag Milkha or a Lagaan ,to an extent.This Aamir Khan movie where he delivers the restrained performance the character demands to the T, is not just about him and every character you see on screen leaves an impression on you, in fact Aamir Khan is absent from the frame in the most riveting moments of the film.If the child actors carry the film in the first half not just with their charm but with the sheer physicality of their roles, the older girls deliver an endearing performance in the second half.Yes, there are the customary song and dance sequences that Bollywood can’t live without but trust me once the film is done with you, you wouldn’t want it any other way.
The film has two Commonwealth wrestling bout sequences and these scenes are so perfectly choreographed, shot and performed that the viewers end up forgetting for those last thirty minutes that its a movie and not the actual Commonwealth wrestling match of 2012 thats unfolding before them.The scenes are truly world class and i can’t think of a movie from any other part of the world where a contact sporting event was so authentically filmed.Dangal’s wrestling sequences are in the same league of perfection as the F1 racing scenes in Rush.It is a highly fictionalized account of the true story and cinematic liberties have been taken, obviously but this movie is indeed a milestone and it does justice to story of the struggle and triumph of the Phogats.The first thing i did after the movie was to lookup Geeta Phogat’s 2012 Commonwealth wrestling match on YouTube and I know I’m not the only one who must’ve done that. #Dangal
gopakumarpurushothaman 